Introduction

Chapter 1

Have you ever wondered how Mona Lisa became one of the most famous paintings in the world? The answer lies in “The Art of Marketing Art”. Ever since the dawn of civilization, humans invested time, energy, and resources to produce works of art. From cave paintings to AI-Generated images, and from pure nature to human-made constructions, art is all around us.

“The Art of Marketing Art - A Digital Journey at Gemini Gallery” is the title chosen by Andrei Fisca to best describe the scope and the purpose of the undertaken Internship. As mentioned in the title, the Internship was conducted at Gemini Gallery; a modern art exhibition in Eindhoven. Gemini Gallery is a relatively new enterprise, created by Agnes & Piotr Palimaka in 2022. What started as a hobby for art, soon grew to be a major outlet for Polish artists in the Netherlands, populating the exhibition with paintings, sculptures, wooden artworks, and more.

Picture from the outside of Gemini Gallery

In parallel to this set of events, the exponential growth of technological developments (“Information Age”), redefined humanity’s pursuit of digital interactions. Given these circumstances, Gemini Gallery faced a new challenge; (to) become digital. During the internship period, Andrei was commissioned with the task of creating and establishing a digital presence for Gemini Gallery; a paramount factor of success in our digital age.

Considering the global narratives around Blockchain’s novelty, NFTs seemed a straightforward solution for Gemini. But in reality, some aspects of the planning did not evolve as envisioned. Iterating this idea, considerable progress was made since day one.

In the following chapters, this research paper will address (1) the establishment of a digital presence, (2) the creation of digital assets, (3) outcomes & limitations, and (4) conclusions. Continue reading to discover ‘what does it take to build an online brand in 2023’ and what are some possible outcomes for such an endeavor.

1A. Problem Definition

Gemini Gallery is a relatively new enterprise. It started as a hobby by Piotr and Agnes Palimaka in 2022 and soon grew to be a major outlet for Polish artists, in the Netherlands. Given the fact none of the owners had prior experience with managing art galleries nor expertise in digital marketing, they found it difficult to create a digital identity for Gemini Gallery.

Furthermore, the world in which we live today is placing major importance on digital experiences. It works to the detriment of a company to not be available online.

1B. Description Stakeholders

In the case of Gemini Gallery, the major stakeholders are the gallery owners, followed by the artists featured in the exhibition, art collectors, art critics, and event organizers. On the same note, other stakeholders with interest in the company are the intern (Andrei), previous clients, potential clients, and ultimately the people in close proximity to Gemini Gallery.

Stakeholders diagram at Gemini Gallery

1C. Description of organizational context

Gemini Gallery is registered at the Chamber of Commerce as a “Partnership Art Gallery”. It jointly owned by Piotr Palimaka and Agnes Palimaka. The company headquarters are located at the gallery itself - Strijpsestraat 52, Eindhoven. The company does not have any employees.

The only other person who carried out work at this location was Andrei during the internship.

1D. Project objective description

The project objective is to improve the customer journey and digital presence of Gemini Gallery. The intern will also redesign the website with regard to SEO, and also create and implement 3D Models which can be seen using Augmented Reality.

The objective is: Specific - as it targets the customer journey and digital presence; Measurable - as it measures website traffic and interactions;

Attainable - through the intern’s knowledge and skills in digital marketing

Relevant - as the gallery needs to adapt to the digital age

Time-bound - as it lasts until the end of the internship

The relevant KPIs for this project include:

• Website traffic - this measures the number of visitors to the new website

• Customer engagement - how long are the website visits and customer interactions

• Feedback from customers - how satisfied are the customers with the website and 3D Models

Additionally, the intern was commissioned with the task of educating the gallery owners on website maintenance and marketing strategies.

1E. Project Planning

The agreement between the intern and the gallery owners was to (1) create a better website, (2) develop a marking strategy, (3) create 3D Models, and (4) create NFTs. The allocated time for each task was 5 weeks, with the possibility to overlap activities. Worth noting is that Gemini Gallery is open four days a week, from Thursday until Sunday, between 12 PM and 5 PM. The intern had the freedom to work on research and implementation both from the office (at the gallery) or remotely.

Project Questions:

• “What is a great website builder that is highly customizable and easy to use?”

• “How to develop a step-by-step marketing strategy for Gemini Gallery?”

• “How to create 3D Models from physical items?”

• “How to create NFTs in 2022?”